Rules

Hello, and welcome to the AnimeCon XMV Competition 2027! 

We’re back in business with a new and improved set of rules for the oldest XMV Competition of the Netherlands!

Submission deadline:
The deadline for submitting your video is March 31, 2027 (Wednesday). Videos submitted after this date may not be eligible for the competition, as we need time to review every submission, prepare title cards and edit voting screens.

Note: If there’s an issue with your submitted video, you’ll be given some extra time (yes, even past the deadline) to fix it. We’ll contact you directly to discuss this. Please keep in mind that this extension is only for correcting minor playback errors, not for reworking your entire video!

What we expect from participants:
In order to be able to participate in the competition there are some requirements you need to meet, some recommended steps to take and a few things that aren't permitted.

What you MUST submit:
An animated music video, including a credit screen of 10 seconds at the end. This part is preferred to be silent white on black, mentioning the sources used, but NOT your name or alias, in order for the voting to remain unbiased. 

If you want, you can send us another version that credits your name ir alias as well. If you do, we will use the version without personal credits for the competition, and retain the full version with your credits for showings outside the competition. We don’t know if there will ever be a showing outside the event, but hey, you’ll never know…

What you CAN submit:

• Animated footage from Asia, preferably with emphasis on Japan
• Game footage
• Risque content
• Cartoon violence
• Blood and gore
• Horror
• Explicit lyrics
• Directly visible violence
• Sex (implied or otherwise) 

What you MIGHT be able to submit (but remains at our discretion, for instance, in cases of excessive use):

•  Stills
• Animated footage from the rest of the world

What you absolutely CANNOT submit:
Anything prohibited by Dutch Law, such as (but not limited to) sexual acts involving minors, animals, etc.
Footage with fansubs and/or fansub logos

Length: 
Maximum 4 minutes and 10 seconds, or 250 seconds.Again: you don’t need to utilize the full 4 minutes: sometimes short and sweet is the way to go.

The technical aspects

Length: 
Maximum 4 minutes and 10 seconds, or 250 seconds in total.

Be aware that very short videos aren't well-received by the audience, so keep that in mind. Though do not make your video 4 minutes because you feel the need to maximize your time.

Resolutions, frame rates and aspect ratios:
640*480 to 4096*2160
1.33:1 (4:3)  to 1.78:1 (16:9)

If you want to send something in 2.39:1 (Cinema Scope), please reconsider. It might be aesthetically pleasing to your video, but you will waste a lot of space above and below. Our screen will be 1.78:1, 600*345 cm, with a video chain resolution of 1920*1080. Recommended frame rate is 23,97-30fps. If you want to go higher, you’re welcome to, but we can’t guarantee the outcome.

Make sure you don’t have any important parts of content at the very edge of the screen. We usually need to mask the edges of the projector’s output somewhat due to the wide angle lens we use.
We will also have screens on the left and right of the big screen. These are approximately 300*175 cm, with an estimated 250 cm gap between the screens. You’re welcome to do something with those screens as well, but keep in mind that syncing between them is a best effort job. 

Containers:
MP4, M2TS, MPEG, MKV and others, but please do not use closed or old-timey containers or codices, and pay attention to the mix. Listen to your editing software if you’re in doubt.

Tips and tricks:

• Make sure your audio is leveled on -3dB, and make sure you encode it in a decent bit rate. Peaks can go higher than -3, but make sure no audio is clipped.
• Do not use Bluetooth headphones while editing. Watch your video on a device with as little processing as possible. Every electronic means of processing adds a delay, which might ruin your timing.
• Please include your name and the title of your video in the file name. 
• If you use more than a few sources, please add a txt-file with the list, name it appropriately, and put both the video and the list in a ZIP or RAR-file.

You can share the video with us through any regular file sharing service, but we do recommend WeTransfer, Google Drive, or Dropbox. Do not upload your video to video sharing websites such as Youtube or Vimeo as it’s hard to get the video in a playable format.

Please retain your project file and other related data until after the competition.

Other important information:

We urge you to be present at the event itself to see it on the big screen and experience the reactions from the audience. The XMV Show has been a packed room since its inauguration back in the Naughties, so it’s always fun to be there.